Archive of "Tourist with Aids-related illness in hospital", The Straits Times, 3 June 1988
=Scan of article & page= =Editable text of article= Tourist with Aids-related illness in hospital Hotel isolates room and drains swimming pool By GILLIAN POW CHONG AN AUSTRALIAN tourist who arrived here on Sunday is in hospital in Singapore because of Aids and the hotel where he stayed has isolated the room and drained the swimming pool. And today, the hotel will burn all sheets, towels and anything else the tourist had or may have used. Staff who dealt with the man when he became ill on Monday were given a blood test and cleared. The women's toilet he used has been disinfected a an additional precautionary measure. The 29-year old man, who is suffering from an Aids-related illness, is being treated in the special ward set aside for Aids patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Communicable Disease Centre. Refused to see a doctor His condition is stable and he will be sent back to Australia when he is fit to travel, said the Singapore Health Ministry yesterday. The drama at the hotel started with a pot of tea the patient ordered through room service. The hotel manager said when a staff member took the tea to the tourist's room between 3 pm and 4 pm on Monday, the man collapsed. The hotel security men helped him to the bed. He was not bleeding, but said he felt dizzy and refused to see a doctor, the manager said. At about 7 pm, the duty manager called the police when the guest acted "strangely". He appeared in the lobby in an unbuttoned shirt and shorts. He refused to return to his room and, at one point, made a beeline for the women's toilet before security staff could stop him. "The staff tried to pacify him until the police arrived and called an ambulance to take him to Singapore General Hospital. "He did not resist. My understanding is that he had a medical certificate from Australia which helped the doctors in their diagnosis," said the hotel manager. The tourist was then sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The hotel swung into action as soon as they were informed that the man had an Aids-related illness. The management contacted the hotel doctor for advice. The doctor asked a surgeon for advice. Said the hotel manager yesterday: "We were not sure if the man, who checked in without a booking on Sunday, swam in the hotel pool but as a precautionary measure, we drained the pool. "The sheets, towels and everything else that he may have used in his room will be burnt by a team from a professional company tomorrow. "We are in the process of disinfecting the room he had occupied which is still isolated. "We were not sure if he had any meals, but the doctor pointed out that the Aids virus is very brittle and with the present system of washing crockery, it would automatically be killed. Staff reassured "The same would have happened when washing the linen, but we are destroying it as a precautionary measure." The management also tried to reassure the staff who feared that they may have picked up the virus when they came in contact with the guest. "We talked to all the staff and checked on what they did. "Only three who had more contact with the man than others, when they helped him, were sent for a blood test," said the hotel manager. The Australian High Commission has removed all the man's belongings from the room, he added. =See also= *Archive of "Three in S’pore found with Aids-linked virus", The Straits Times, 10 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids virus: Doctor who 'found it'", The Sunday Times, 14 April 1985 *Archive of "A chance to be ahead in medicine", The Singapore Monitor, 16 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids on ‘must report’ list", The Straits Times, 17 April 1985 *Archive of "Undergrads to be taught about Aids", The Straits Times, 21 April 1885 *Archive of "16 more may be carriers of Aids virus", The Straits Times, 30 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids doctor thanks mum", The Straits Times, 12 May 1985 *Archive of "Special lab to do Aids tests soon", The Straits Times, 18 May 1985 *Archive of "Man with Aids related virus in hospital", The Straits Times, 21 July 1985 *Archive of "Aids carrier leaves hospital", The Straits Times, 28 July 1985 *Archive of "Ministry steps up Aids drive", The Straits Times, 5 September 1985 *Archive of "Singapore ‘first in the world’ to have 100 % screening of donor blood", The Straits Times, 11 September 1985 *Archive of "S’pore-Stanford research tie-up bid", The Straits Times, 10 October 1985 *Archive of "Aids: 20,000 cleared", The Straits Times, 29 November 1985 *Archive of "200 turn up for first public medical convention", The Straits Times, 28 April 1986 *Archive of "Screening tests likely to uncover more Aids carriers", The Straits Times, 1 May 1986 *Archive of "100 people could be Aids carriers here: Expert", The Straits Times, 3 August 1986 *Archive of "Aids claims first victim here", The Straits Times, 11 April 1987 *Archive of "Fear of Aids pushes up condom sales", The Straits Times, 19 April 1987 *Archive of "Govt dental clinics phasing out boiling", The Straits Times, 1 October 1987 *Earliest cases of HIV/AIDS in Singapore *HIV/AIDS in Singapore's LGBT community *Paddy Chew *Avin Tan *Ajmal Khan *Calvin Tan *Adrian Tyler =References= *Gillian Pow Chong, "Tourist with Aids-related illness in hospital", The Straits Times, 3 June 1988[]. =Acknowledgements= This article was archived by Roy Tan. Category:Archive of LGBT articles